I don’t need to rehash the details of the attack, we all know what happened in the Manchester Arena, I don’t have the heart to repeat it. The enemy attack us at our most vulnerable, because they don’t have the stomach for an equal fight. I’ve seen videos of ISIS on the battle field, they couldn’t hit a still target from 10 feet away. They are angst-filled slackers with no skills or achievements. In our culture if you feel an outsider as a teenager, you do what I did, you listen to Nirvana & claim your parents just don’t “understand you.” Extremist lunatics don’t have the same capacity of “phases” it seems.

We know these type of bullies, the small guy in the group who is the most vocal – big in a crowd – but singularly wouldn’t say boo to a goose. Make no bones about it, these men are losers. They have no direction in life. They’ve been sold a lie by their faith that evil is somehow courageous. Just think for a second how miserable & hate-fueled their lives must be to inflict such pain on innocent strangers, all the while knowing they will also certainly die? I have suffered with depression, spent years hooked on anxiety medication, In and out of Dr’s appointments, hospitals & therapy sessions. During my hardest times (which pale in comparison to the families of the victims) I only ever felt that I wasn’t good enough to exist – but never that others deserved the same treatment. I know how shit my life could be at my lowest point – so my mind boggles at how bad theirs is.

No, I am not claiming they are victims. They are scum. My point is, in life we make choices. People like us don’t act like them, we don’t feel such hate, we don’t attack children. We don’t choose the road they do.

Bigotry of gays, suppression of women, viewing all non-Muslims (and other Muslims who enjoy such “vile” things as Make-up and Music) as enemies.

-They are against free speech because it is used to criticize their holy books.

-They attack children because to them, there is nothing scarier than a young group of kids with the opportunity to learn how to think for themselves; especially girls having the right of education.

-They shoot up cafes because our lives are so fulfilled that we have free time to enjoy the company of others – regardless of differing opinions.

-They hate freedom because it flies in the face of everything they’ve lacked in life.

Some years back I began writing specifically about Islamic terror attacks after I watched a video of around 400 Ahmahdi & Shia Muslims being shot one by one & dumped into a shallow grave. They didn’t resist, they just took a step forward after the man or women in front dropped lifelessly to his/her grave. They truly had no hope, you could see it in their eyes; in all these years, I still remember some of their faces. It reminded me of the Holocaust – I wondered why it wasn’t mainstream news. So I began fighting for these people with my writing, it was a small gesture, maybe more for my benefit but it was something. For a short time I had Muslims applaud my work, until they noticed not only was I standing up for Muslims but admitting the killers were usually also Muslims, albeit more extreme. This made me an Islamophobe, somehow.

I hope one day we will feel safe again; the truth is, we are afraid and we should be – we are under attack because of our way of life, and we for damn sure won’t change that. So in time they will tire, knowing that after every bomb and every bullet people will still stand against them, with love in our hearts & care for the truest forms of humanity we see all around us.

Our way of life gives us strength in days of fear. In New York on September 11th 2001, the peace-loving-people of the world stood still in horror. We cried, we hurt, we tried to understand. The evil power that attacked The World Trade centre seemed enough to supplant any hope for humanity that Americans previously had.
But the very next day, New Yorker’s went to work. They cared for each other like never before. Divides of race & colour seemed to dissipate in the hours after the attack as every one came together as Americans. They aren’t alone, cities around the world have shown this resolve in the face of such hate.

Sadly, it’s Manchester’s time to endure the burden of these murderers. Do you think they will lose hope? Do you believe bombs & bullets can dissolve the thriving community of culture, music and love that is Manchester?

Not a fucking chance.

By the time the next football season comes around, I will go back to pretending Manchester are the adversaries of Scousers in a jovial feud over sport – but today I will admit what I usually wouldn’t dare say. Just like every day before & every day to come – Mancunians are our brothers and sisters, cousins and friends. We don’t need to stand with them, we are them – and therefore will never leave their side.

In our darkest times, we need a light to guide the way, one to walk towards as we shake the fear from our bones. Stupidly these terrorists attacked the wrong city. Did nobody tell them about Manchester? Mancunians could never let terror lead them into darkness, they will always find hope; always find a light to walk towards, and as we all know in that city, there is a light and it never goes out.

Rest in peace to the victims & my tearful condolences to their families. As & when the victims are named I will add them below.
*John Atkinson – 26 years old.

I have debated many Christians & Muslims on the issue of gay marriage, or marriage as good people call it. The rising tide of embarrassment and public shaming of any anti-gay rhetoric has created a situation were lots of believers have now changed their argument to seem more inclusive, or dare I say compassionate. What used to be ”They’re demons” or ”gays are evil” or ”they must be killed” or ”they’re unnatural” has now turned into ”They’re sick … but God loves them and we can help” or ”if they hold back their urges we can accept them” or ”they’re sinners but can be forgiven” my personal worst “we can pray away the gay”

In fairness, not all Christians feel this way, just many who frequent the public forum, but it is important as it only goes to show they are still stuck to their hatred, instead they now use condescension within their argument. Either way, the believers are wrong.

Every single argument goes back to ”because the bible says…” So if this is a point you hear often, please remember the following as I always debunk this idea in the same way. (separate example given)

”Do you believe slavery is a good thing?”

”No, not at all.”

”OK do you think the 10 commandments are good?”

”Yes of course!”

”OK, Well slavery is sanctioned in the bible & not only that but certain verses explain how hard you can beat your slave! How do you answer this?”

”That doesn’t count! That is the old testament, which is basically null, we have a new testament, a new covenant of Jesus!”

”Ah but you believe the 10 commandments are good?”

”YES”

”Well that is the old testament too…”

”…”

Take out slavery and input homosexuality. There is no reason to be anti-gay from a biblical perspective unless you are also pro-slavery & pro-killing of adulterers etc. As soon as a Christian can choose to ignore slavery but adhere to the anti-gay or the 10 commandments they are now being intellectually dishonest & cherry picking. If you disregard any of the old testament then do away with all of it to be at the very least intellectually consistent. Never again mention Moses & the 10 commandments or Genesis & Adam & Eve; never use your belief that evolution is wrong based on the start of Genesis as you have already accepted that some parts of that perfectly inspired & divine book is complete nonsense.

The only reason to be anti-gay and not pro-slavery in this regard, is clear bigotry. You personally hate gays or think it is yucky, so you find something within your holy book to bolster your hatred, but logic defeats you. Gladly this hatred won’t last much longer; the fact that vitriol has turned into a more seemingly humane care for gays to change gives me hope that the next step is acceptance, through gritted teeth.

Many have used natural disasters to prove that god is on their side. Maybe god has evolved in his opinion of gays, much like politicians in the EU or US (once the the population passed 50% of support) because on the day that Ireland voted for gay marriage to be made legal, a beautiful rainbow was cast above the emerald isle; whereas in Texas (which had been outraged at the outcome of the vote) there had been a massive flood of near biblical proportion. I guess God finally chose a side. If you are anti-gay there is no rational evidence for your belief, from any perspective and if you still hold this view in 2015 – you most certainly are a bigot.

Lastly, for any of my gay brothers & sisters, friends & family I hope I can call you. Always remember that Love has no colour; it has no sexual orientation or societal responsibility; nor is it blind, in fact it is based on the evidence that we can be convinced that we are meant to be with someone we care for, even when everyone else seems convinced of the opposite. Love is not a privilege for a select few or a right for only the religious to hold, it is a staple of why we are so special as a species. It is what separates us from our cousins in the animal kingdom who don’t have the capacity or language to convey such feelings, we must defend this with all we hold dear; Not just straight Love or Gay Love or interracial Love – But Love in all its glorious and fantastical forms. A human should not have to defend the right to love another human, whatever their differences.

A supporter holds a sign reading ‘Thank You – You’re All Invited to the Wedding’ as he celebrates outside Dublin Castle following the result of the same-sex marriage referendum in Dublin on May 23, 2015. Ireland on Saturday became the first country in the world to approve gay marriage by popular vote as crowds cheered in Dublin in a spectacular setback for the once all-powerful Catholic Church. AFP PHOTO / PAUL FAITH